The Occupation
by Raulius
Summary: The average world of an average college student shatters and threatens to end when humanity is faced with an enemy no one expected was real. Can he survive the next few months with both his life and mind intact? "No matter how hard you try, you can't save them all."


**All of Mass Effect is owned by EA and Bioware, I'm just a simple guy borrowing some material :D**

Jasper Locke sat at the desk in the back of his small apartment with a hot bowl of vegetable soup, the recipe being a part of his family since the early 1900s. Turning his chair to the right, Jasper took in the scenic view that had sold the apartment for him. It was September in Vancouver and the city was gearing up for the International Film Festival in the next week, with posters plastered on every corner and billboard they could find. Despite focus slowly shifting to this annual event, the people of Vancouver went on about their daily lives. Down below, pedestrians could be seen making their way through the streets, and up above them, skycars sped through the skylanes. Looking past the towering skyscrapers, Jasper could see the shimmering waters of False Creek, with a large Alliance cruiser lazily hovering above it.

Jasper rolled his chair back to his desk, currently occupied by various books and notepads from his college classes, and got up to place a now empty bowl in his small dishwasher. Two low chirps sounded from Jasper's left wrist, and the young man opened up his omnitool, revealing a new message from his little sister, Sarah.

' _Since Mom and Dad are heading out to Elysium, I was planning on meeting some friends in town later, and thought we could meet up before that and catch up a little bit :D_ '

Jasper's family lived out on in the outskirts of Vancouver, and had recently planned a second honeymoon trip to Elysium, probably why Sarah thought she could get out and party with her friends a bit, not that Jasper would stop her, but he'd try to warn her against any reckless ideas. Replying back, Jasper told her he'd meet her at a small coffee shop a few blocks from his apartment. With that done, Jasper decided to head into his bathroom to wash up before heading out to meet Sarah, stepping into the small room through his hallway. After a quick wash, Jasper looked at the man in the mirror, rubbing the 5'o'clock shadow on his face and decided a shave could wait. Besides his facial hair, Jasper figured he was pretty average-looking, all things considered. Jasper was tall and lean, with strong features and an olive complexion, and his deep brown eyes were matched by a short mop of dark brown hair.

Jasper wrapped a towel around himself and stepped through a second door in his bathroom that led straight to his bedroom, opening up his closet doors and throwing on the first things he saw, a set of jeans and a thin brown jacket. Moving to the living room once more, Jasper slipped on a pair of sneakers and exited his apartment, locking the door behind him.

Skipping down the final steps of his apartment building, Jasper made his way down the street in the direction of the coffee shop, becoming one of the many people in the glistening street, still slick from last night's rain. As Jasper took in his surroundings, he saw a few rare cases within the crowd of people on the street. Jasper caught a glimpse of a few blue-skinned asari, just as beautiful as they were made out to be, the occasional salarian speeding through a conversation with some business types, and probably the rarest of them all, a turian walking along with a human female in his arm. Jasper had heard of people getting involved with aliens before, but he always felt a little odd when he saw it, not that he cared too much that is, to each their own he figured.

Halfway to the shop, Jasper was nearly knocked down as a purple-skinned asari slipped on the wet street. Thankfully, Jasper was quick enough to react by catching the asari by her arm, halting her fall. Turning to her savior, the purple-eyed asari managed a small smile as her cheeks managed to turn an even darker shade of purple.

"Oh! I apologize for barreling into you like that, the ground was just so slick, and I wasn't paying attention to were I was going, and-" the asari continued to ramble as she straightened her clothes, straightening herself up before she started over, "I was rambling, sorry, I tend to do that when I get embarrassed. Anyways, thank you for your help, I'm Seras." Seras then offered her hand out to Jasper, who took it in a firm grasp, only to have himself pulled in as Seras made quick kisses on each of his cheeks. Witnessing the growing redness in Jasper's cheeks, as well as the look of utter confusion and slight bliss in his face, Seras tried to explain herself as she managed her own look of confusion.

"What's wrong?" said Seras, suddenly donning a look of mild terror, "Oh Goddess, I screwed it up didn't I!? I'm so sorry, I just arrived on Earth, but I'd always heard from others that humans usually kissed the cheeks of people they met as a sign of greetings, I didn't mean to make things weird, you probably think I'm some sort of creep or an absolute fool-." During her blathering, Jasper was busy stupidly giggling to himself until he managed to get a hold of himself, covering up the giggles by going into a small coughing fit.

"No,no,no,no, don't worry Seras, you didn't do anything wrong." said Jasper as he tried to smooth the situation over and cover it up for Seras's sake, "Some of us do greet people that way in some parts of the world, but we're a bit more low maintenance around here, a simple handshake can suffice." Jasper added the last bit by offering his own hand to Seras, "You can call me Jasper."

The asari gave Jasper a grateful smile as the two shook hands, relieved that she hadn't made too big a fool of herself, "Thank you, Jasper. I've heard all kinds of stories about human diversity, and in my haste to prepare for this trip, I suppose I let myself get a little to overwhelmed by it all." Seras then went to hold one arm behind her back as they spoke, becoming a little more comfortable as the two spoke.

Jasper couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride knowing that the 'stories' on humanity could have such an effect on someone, but decided to keep that to himself. "Ah, we're nothing special, just people trying to live our lives one day at a time. Nothing, compared to what I've heard about the asari." said Jasper, trying to play down humanity's greatness.

As the two stood there for an awkward moment, neither sure as where to go from here, it was Seras who decided to break it up. "As much as I've enjoyed speaking with you Jasper, I really should get going before I'm too late." said Seras, slowly moving away, not looking to prolong the moment any longer, but certainly in no rush to leave. So Jasper and Seras made their farewells, Jasper just processing the scent that had been floating through the air when he met Seras. It was hard to place, nothing he had smelt before, but he liked it. Looking down at his omnitool, Jasper was surprised to see how much time had passed, if he didn't hurry he'd be late for his get-together with Sarah. The young adult picked up his pace to a speedy walk, hoping to make it to the coffee shop in time.

Turning the corner, Jasper spotted the little sign that sat outside of the little shop he'd occasionally frequent from time to time. A majority of its patrons consisted of bleary eyed college students and a few hopeful writers, all aiming to write the next great screenplay. In the back corner, Jasper spotted a girl in her late teens, with her straw-blond hair tied up in a ponytail and the sleeves of her hoodie pulled all the way up as she played on a small little datapad. The brother ruffled her hair as he took a seat opposite of her, causing the girl to raise her datapad as a weapon while Jasper reeled back, ready for what he knew was coming. Surprisingly to him, Sarah just lowered her datapad back down with a small smile on her face. "Asshole."

"First time I've seen you in the last few months and this is how I'm greeted?" teased Jasper as he leaned his elbows on the table, a similar smile to Sarah's on his face, "I'm hurt."

Sarah rolled her eyes at Jasper, waving one of the waiters over, "I call it like a see it, Jasp. Besides after the way you treated my hair, you're lucky I didn't crawl over this table and beat you with my datapad."

The waiter arrived, Jasper ordering an arabica, and Sarah ordering something simply called Thessian coffee. "Still in that Thessian phase?" asked Jasper, amusement evident in his voice.

Sarah simply shrugged at Jasper's comment. "What, you gonna sue me? It might not be actual coffee, but it's freaking delicious. You should try it, or are you chicken?" said Sarah, adopting a bit of a mocking tone at the end.

Jasper simply waved her off and leaned back in his chair, "I'm not scared, but I don't relish the idea of eating or drinking things that most likely grew up in an entirely different environment. Besides, didn't you say you were meeting some friends later on? What's that about?" Jasper inquired, trying to turn the accusations around, thanking the waiter as he delivered the drinks and paying the tab.

"Yeah, I was meeting Melissa and T'vone downtown later. Thought we'd catch a movie, go eat, and hang out at Melissa's." said Sarah, suddenly leaning over to Jasper as if some great epiphany had come over her, "You know, you should come! You could meet T'vone, she's real nice, and real cute for an asari too! I could totally make you two work!" Sarah ,overcome by excitement at this point, starting to mumble to herself about what she'd wear to the wedding.

Jasper nearly choked on his coffee at this point, shaking his head and clearing his head at the same time, "Oh no, I'm not gonna hook up with one of your friends, if you're their taste in friends, it just spells all sorts of trouble."

Sarah looked at Jasper with her mouth hanging open, "Well I'm sorry for trying to help you out. You just looked so lonely in that apartment all by yourself." The sound of a gunship passing outside could be heard.

"I'm perfectly capable of finding someone on my own, thank you very much."

"Well, you certainly don't inspire confidence." said Sarah simply as she sipped her beverage.

"Why did I agree to meet you?"

"Because without me your hopeless." stated Sarah matter-of-factly, setting her cup down with a smug grin adorning her angelic features. "Don't get mad at me for trying to help you find someone put up with your shit."

Jasper couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the statement, quickly regaining his composure as a few annoyed heads turned his way. "My shit? How many times have I covered for you over the years, hmm? I remember taking more than my share of the blame for your antics, like that time you broke Mom's one-of-a-kind Turian art-piece?"

"Wasn't my fault." said Sarah simply, and before Jasper had a chance to reply, "I was eight, how was I supposed to know rubber chickens didn't fly like real ones?"

"Because real ones can't fly!"

"In my defense, you told me it was part of a ritual to reach Narnia." Sarah pointed out to Jasper as a few of the patrons behind her began gathering around the TV up front, "So, technically, it's your fault for warping my fragile little mind." Jasper smiled at his sister, and was about to point out she had threatened to assault him with a stuffed animal if he didn't help, but that's when the commotion up front caught his attention. A small crowd had gathered near the monitor, some standing with tears in their eyes, one man bolted out of the shop hitting nearly every table on the way.

The older brother got up from his seat, ignoring Sarah's questions, trying to get a glimpse of what had everyone so distressed, and that's when he saw it. On the screen was a monstrous looking creature, black and taller than anything Jasper had ever seen, taking down a skyscraper somewhere in the world. "What the-"

-but the front glass of the shop exploded.

 **~ Hey guys, hope your enjoying the story so far, not much action I know, but I figured getting at 2000 words were enough for this first chapter. Anywho, I plan to have a dark feeling in this story, first time writing anything for the public, but I'm confident I can pull it off, that said I'd really love any comments and feedback you can give me to make this into the best possible story it can be. Love you guys and see ya round the galaxy ;D**


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